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Camry Hybrid

I am new to hybrid cars and am trying to understand the related economics. We are considering purchasing a new car within the next six months, and it will probably be a Camry. The question is - should it be an LE or a Hybrid. I would appreciate any advice concerning the pros and cons. In particular, a mechanic at our garage told me that you must replace the battery every five years or so and that these cost between $5,000 and $6,000. If that is true, it is a large disincentive to owning a hybrid. Thanks.

Does your mechanic friend

Does your mechanic friend own a Hybrid?
The Toyota Hybrid vehicle has been around for 11 years, more and more people are buying them. Do you notice every auto maker on the planet is putting money to develope hybrid models now. In Vancouver, British Columbia Prius taxi are everywhere, You think those Taxi drivers love to spend 5 G buying battery every couple of years!
I owned a camry Hybrid for two years now and it is the best car I ever had. By the way my last couple of cars are Mercedes Benz E300 and Toyota Sienna, they are both very nice rig but the Hybrid technology is just light years ahead of them.

We bought our Camry Hybrid

We bought our Camry Hybrid almost one year ago and I still love it like the first day we bought it. It's the best car I've owned (previous car was a Mercedes) and I would buy another hybrid in a second. I am waiting on the hybrid minivan (please Toyota please) to come to the US so we can replace our second car.

I own a 2007 Camry Hybrid

I own a 2007 Camry Hybrid with about 39k miles. I love it and could never by a regular gas vehicle again.
As far as batteries, I believe they are guaranteed as part of the emission system for 5 years and 100k miles.

http://www.hybridcars.com/com

“The cost of a new Honda hybrid battery pack ranges from $2,000 to $2,500 depending on the model. Toyota currently sells a Prius pack for about $3,000. Installation costs are approximately $900, according to the Newsweek article. Both companies plan to substantially reduce the cost of the replacement packs, as they reach economies of scale on battery production.”

Imagine the Camry would be around the $3900 install price for the Prius.

That’s if you go new.

I found a used Camry hybrid battery on ebay for $800, 32,000 miles on it.

Listen to your mechanic, he

Listen to your mechanic, he knows what he's talking about. I know no mechanic who has bought a hybrid and there has to be good reason for that. Maybe it's because of the weak 100k/5 year projected battery life. He knows a $5000-$6000 repair bill is more than a 5 year old car is worth and you might as well send it to the same dumpster where all the old cell phones and battery operated power tools are buried. If the companies who make hybrids don't have any more confidence in their batteries than to boast about a 100k-150k battery life (that's only about 3-5 years for most people) why should we have any more confidence in them than they do?

What are these "facts"? Who

What are these "facts"? Who really knows how long the hybrid battery will last? All this is just conjecture. An acquaintence of mine drives a Civic hybrid that is several years old, has 120,000 miles, and has never had an issue. I drive a super-loaded 2007 Camry hybrid (NAV, moonroof, leather, etc). and absolutely love the car. I would, if I were in the market for a car, give very serious consideration to the Fusion hybrid. Living in metro Detroit, and working for GM dealerships most of my life, there is a certain perspective that GM/Ford=patriotism. When I bought the Camry, there was no GM or Ford car that met my objectives.

how much is a battery for a

I have just bought a 2010

I have just bought a 2010 Camry Hybrid, it is smoother than a Lexus LS 430. In so far as the battery life goes, I have a friend who owns a 1999 Toyota Prius with 180 Miles and his batteries are still good. Hope this alleviates concerns about the batteries installed in this solidly reliable vehicle.